h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I could do with some guidance here, people are using lots of terms and clearly they know what they mean by them, but I don't.

Erm

What's a task?
A Challenge?
A contest?
An idea?
An assignment?

Hides the under the

Forcing everyone to take part in Create? That would be an interesting rumour to start. No, let's not go there....

Actually, Ben that is a very good question.

*Considers whether 2legs would like to go into the manufacturing business so Sol can keep supply up to meet with demand*

Well, and s you can see how often I need that smiley ordinarily...

Wanders through.

Well sometimes I work through my list of hootoo things to write, and sometimes I read something on the site, inspiration strikes and off I go.

Dimitri called for haiku on the olympics the other day - thought about it a bit and ended up with a rather nice poem as a result.

Some of my very first non-fiction writing was from little challenges that Pin used to come up with (where is Pin, by the way?).

In summary, creative processes differ for different people, but I think most us like to get a little spark from other peoples ideas and opinions. So far, create topics haven't really appealed to me, but I really liked the najo month (lots of good writing) so I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

sprout

Actually,the JoPoers are in the middle of brainstorming variations for next year here if anybody wants to add their mite: F22114885?thread=8286859

I am going to steal Mala's reminder that the Stretcher gave points for technical achievement for that.

(It occurs that Mala may have misunderstood me. I mean, I am going to make her design a task, not take part in one. Although...

*Chases Mala with the * )

You'll not catch me that easily!

As I say, I see the point of it, but it doesn't appeal to me personally. That is all.

Like Solhushka I loved the Stretcher, but knew I wouldn't be able to meet the deadlines, however anybody could write for any of the stages on an individual basis, and several entries came from that.

As regards what inspires me to write - usually it's something I find totally missing - my first entry was on my home-town, or it's something I read that I want to share.

I like inspiration from external sources, because I find it so hard to do myself. It might be something specific, but general ideas tend to work well too. At the moment I try to keep an eye out at work for things that I don't realise I know, that the general populace don't know. And then see if there's an Entry on it.

That has only inspired two Entries though - I'm not particularly prolific.

There were more than 130 posts in this thread by the time I noticed it. I read the first 100. There have been many fine posts, but the one I want to comment on is post 90, in which Radox said,

"Way back when, you suggested (Effers, I mean) that h2g2 should have a place where artists could go for arts sake, rather than with any sort of 'means to an end' purpose. I liked that concept then, and I still do now. In all seriousness, I think this is something you should try to build. It would be an enormous asset to h2g2 and be something you could justifiably pride yourself on achieving"

No matter what period of history you look at, you find young creative people who go against the prevailing styles. When we look back at what they accomplished, it often seems mysterious that anybody objected to what they came up with. Maybe 100 years from now, it will seem mysterious that so many people objected so strongly to some of Robert Maplethorp's photographs or that crucifix in urine. For some of us (I'm including myself), the act of creating something is not a choice. We have to do it. We can't not do it. Experimenting with stuff that may strike others as uncouth is part of staking one's claim to something original. True, some artists can express themselves in ways that others find tasteful, but that should not inhibit anyone from taking other routes.

I'm not here to ask that Effers be anything except what she is.
Art for art's sake? Great idea!

Art for arts sake, or art for the sake of art?

Being creative in your own way is (usually) good, but deciding and promoting the view that another's way is bad or inferior, well that's not so good.

i'm impressed reading over 100 posts, i on the whole manage about 3 or 4

"deciding and promoting the view that another's way is bad or inferior, well that's not so good." [Pastey]



I think it's human nature to do that, though. More to the point, it might happen that disliking another person's art will give one the energy and motivation to get busy on projects of one's own.

The downside is that not all creative people have talent. Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner made this point in "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe." They did it in a humorous way, but there's a serious point there. For instance, a writer with great ideas but poor writing technique would be in need of an excellent editor. Some people get lucky in the sense that their limited skills meet the right collaborator. I'm thinking of someone like Baron Gottfried Von Swieten, an 18th Century man who would have loved to be a composer, but his symphonies were dry and uninteresting. He did, however, find some manuscripts by J.S. Bach (who was languishing in obscurity at the time), and made sure that they came to the attention of Mozart and Haydn. Realizing that composing was not his thing, he wrote librettoes based on English sources, and was lucky to have Haydn set them as oratorios. Haydn had not been great at setting opera librettoes, but there was something about Von Swieten's work that perfectly matched what Haydn was able to do musically.

William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan rarely succeeded except in collaboration with each other.

Know yourself. Find out what your best shot is. If the perfect collaborator is available, run (don't walk) to his/her side. It's better than beating your head against a wall.

Interesting point, paulh, pertinent too.

Artistic temperament
Creative thought
Interpretative vision
Mechanical skills


Rarely come in the same parcel. As you say: run (don't walk) towards your complement(s).

I know what you mean about collaboration. I work well with a few people, very badly with others, and sloooowly by myself

We certainly have some authors here on h2g2 who have a lot to say but can hardly write a coherent sentence in English. With a bit of work, we collaborate together to produce fine Edited Entries.

Gnomon say me no speak English goodly?

I think he means me.

Youse should be glad I don't be speakin' in Dublin English...